Luminous sign and method of mounting the same



y 1937- w. GORDON ET AL ,7

LUMINOUS SIGN AND METHOD OF MOUNTING THE SAME Filed Jan. 30, 1935 3/ 6 Ell: l?

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Zhwentor ttorneg Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE LUMINOUS SIGN AND METHOD or MOUNTING THE SAME Application January 30, 1935, Serial No. 4,102

1 Claim.

This invention relates to illuminated signs composed of letters which are raised above and secured to a mounting surface, and it has particular reference to means for readily mounting such sign letters and supporting a light source for their illumination.

Heretofore in the art, it has been proposed to make sign letters of more or less translucent glass, which could be fitted into suitable apertures cut into a mounting frame, and to dispose electric lamps within the frame, so that, when the lights were turned on, the letters would become visible from the transmitted light. Such structures, however, are costly, due in part to the fact that the frame must be cut away to receive the letters from the reverse side thereof, and, once the sign is assembled, its characters can not be readily rearranged, since any shifting of letters reveals an aperture, and requires the cutting of a new one.

According to the present invention, it is proposed to make the sign letters of colored, white, or translucent material, usually of a glass composition, with raised character-defining portions and base portions which lie in a common plane, so that the letters of the sign may be laid flush against the frame without the necessity of cutting away the frame member in conformity with the outline of the letter. It is further proposed to' secure these letters to the frame by bolt members, which may pass through the common plane portions, and which also project upward between the raised portions to receive thereon a source of illumination, which may be a commercial form of luminous or Geissler tube. With such an arrangement, the sign may be quickly and economically assembled, or rearranged if desired, and will, when illuminated, produce a beautiful and attractive color effect.

A typical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a sign, drawn on an enlarged scale, showing the letter E mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, on a reduced scale, showing in further detail the mode of mounting the letters;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of a portion of a letter shown in Fig. 2, depicting the contour of the letter and the letter and tube mounting means;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the mounting bracket; and,

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a modified form of mounting bracket.

As shown in Fig. l, the sign comprises a frame having a face or mounting member ID, on which are disposed as many characters II as may be required to spell out or delineate the word or symbol which is to be displayed. For exemplary purposes, only the letter E is shown here, having the three laterally projecting portions l2, l3, and I4 extending from a common base 15. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, each of these portions is composed of a pair of outwardly extending ribs Hi and I! which converge to a common point or rounded or flat or other surface Ill. The inner ribs I! are connected at the base ofv the letter by a plane web l9, whose bottom surface 2| lies in the same plane as the inner ends 22 of the outer ribs l6.

It will thus be seen that the letter or character, irrespective of its specific configuration, is formed of a pair of opposed character defining portions and a base portion, the innermost edges of which all lie in substantially a common plane, so that the character may be mounted flush against the frame l0.

Referring toFigs. 2 and 3, it willbe noted that the face lilof the frame is substantially continuous and that it need not be cut away in order to receive the described characters. The sign frame is shown as in the form of a box having the front face l0 and top and bottom faces 23 and 24, which, as it may be supposed, join with a similar end face at the opposite side of the sign so that characters may be displayed on both sides thereof.

Within the reentrant portion of the character, defined by the inner ribs l1 and the web 19, is mounted a luminous tube 25 which, as shown in Fig. 1, substantially follows the outline of the letter. While the luminous tube 25 may be mounted at varying distances from the web l9, it is desirable to keep the outer edge of the tube 25 within the plane defined by the edges I8. Under these conditions, the colored light emanating from the illuminated tube 25 will fall primarily on the ribs I7, and some of this light will immediately be reflected to give a brilliant color whose spectral characteristic will depend upon the specific characteristics of the gas in the tube 25 and the material of which the letter is formed. Thus, if the tube 25 be filled with neon, and the letter be formed of a white glass, then the interior portions of the sign between the ribs l'l will have the red characteristic of neon. Or, if the glass contain a certain portion of yellow, then the color will be more of an orange. It will thus be seen that a wide choice of colors is available, depending upon the spectral characteristics of the illuminating source and the thing illuminated.

While some of the light will be so reflected, another fraction will be transmitted into thespace between the ribs l6 and I 1. In the course of transmission, some of this light will be refracted, while some will'penetrate the ribs l6, thus giving to the sign a number of tones of the same or closely related colors. Or, if the glass itself be of several colors, then still different effects may be obtained. Depending upon the contour of the ribs IS, the outermost portions of the letter may stand out as dark areas or as light areas. Thus, if the surface I 8 is made in the form of a totally reflecting prism, a dark outline will be presented, surrounded on either side by tints and shades of the characteristic color.

In order to produce these desirable effects, it is necessary to provide some means for mounting the character and energizing the illuminating tube 25. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the ends of the tube 25 are turned inwardly through apertures 26 formed in the web l9, and also pass through aligned apertures in the face ID of the sign frame. These ends merge into electrode receiving portions 21, received in cups 28 disposed within the body of the frame. Each cup may be provided with a circular flange 29 abutting the inner surface of the frame l and may be held thereon by clips 3| which are secured to the frame by bolts 32. Wires 33, connected to the electrodes, pass through the cups 28 and provide a means for connecting the luminous tube to a suitable source of high potential current. As the details of the electrical system are not a part of this invention, it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate or describe them further.

A number of brackets 4! are disposed at suitable intervals on the web 19, to provide a means for securing both the letter and the luminous tube 25. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, each bracket 4| consists of a bottom plate 42 provided with boltreceiving apertures 43 and a central upstanding cup 44. Suitable apertures are drilled through the web l9 and the face It), so that the brackets 4| may be mounted against the web I9 by means of bolts 45. It will be observed that when the brackets are mounted as just described, the letters are securely held in place without the necessity of cutting away extensive areas of the frame itself.

Each bracket 4| receives, in its cup 44, a glass post 46 having at its outer end a saddle 41 to receive the tube 25. The post 46 may also be made of any other suitable electrically insulating and heat resisting material, and it may be corrugated to enhance its insulating properties. Tie wires 48 are wrapped around the tube 25 and secured tothe post 46 beneath the saddle 41, thereby securely holding the tube 25 in place.

A modified form of post is shown in Fig. 5, in which the cup 49 is integral with a threaded stud which may pass directly through the letter and frame to receive a suitable nut.

The joints between the inner portions of the rib I6 and the face of the sign frame may be rendered waterproof by applying any suitable material, as indicated by the numeral 52.

In making the sign characters, they are molded to the desired form according to usual practice, and then are trimmed down at the bottom of the ribs I6 so that the contour of the letter may be sharply defined and the letter may lie 'fiush against the mounting surface. As many apertures as are required for the tube ends and the mounting brackets are then drilled through the letter, and thereafter the sign is ready for assembly in accordance with the plan just described. It will be observed that the invention provides a simple but highly effective way of assembling an illuminated sign, and while the invention has been described with particular reference to one embodiment, it will be understood that it is intended to encompass all such modifications and variations as fall Within the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

In a luminous sign, a mounting frame, a sign character disposed on and secured to said frame, said character having a pair of outwardly extending ribs connected at the outer edge of the character and being spaced at their inner ends, the innermost of said ribs being connected by a web, the lower surface of the web and inner ends of the outermost ribs lying in a common surface including said mounting frame, whereby said character may be mounted flush against said frame, a luminous tube disposed over said'web and following the outline of said character, and means for mounting said tube to said web and said web to said frame.

WILLIAM GORDON. RAYMOND NAUTH. KARL HENRY KNIEP. 

